Devils
Photo Credit: Bobby O'Hara

Devils’ success is testament to Tom Fitzgerald

We kept waiting for the Devils to fall apart this season. They were ahead of schedule by getting off to a great start and they sustained their start by having winning months this entire season.

It was good enough for them to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in five years after they clinched a playoff berth with a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators Saturday night at Prudential Center.

When a team has been that good in a long season, they have earned the right to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is considered the greatest postseason in sports based on the perseverance and toughness it takes for a team to win it all. This is an opportunity the young players will relish, especially Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.

This is a Devils team that is gritty, fast and explosive. This is a team that has been built properly by the way the players function with each other.

This is where we credit Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald for building a successful team.

Fitzgerald played in the NHL for 17 seasons. He played in the Stanley Cup Final once. He played for young teams that were learning to win in his career. He knows what it takes to build a successful NHL team such as finding the right people and guys that know how to play the game. He turned out to be the right guy to oversee a rebuilding project with the Devils.

His best move as a Devils general manager was acquiring Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals for two 2022 NHL draft picks this past offseason. Obviously, it wasn’t a big deal at the time since he was a backup at the time, but now it could be the move of the NHL offseason. Vanecek has been one of the reasons why the Devils are a playoff team in 2022-23.

Fitzgerald acquired him for the purpose of creating a goaltending competition. He felt Mackenzie Blackwood had to earn his starting job after struggling most of last season, and he felt the Devils could use an upgrade at goaltending after the Devils lost so many close games due to bad goaltending.

Vanecek played so well in training camp and he took off in the regular season and never looked back. He has a 29-10-4 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.

The Devils haven’t had quality goaltending since Cory Schneider left. They finally got one that can be good for the next few years in Vanecek. This will go a long way for the Devils to sustain their success and move up to being a Stanley Cup contender.

Fitzgerald came up with another good off-season move by acquiring Erik Haula from the Boston Bruins for draft pick-bust Pavel Zacha. He made the move to get a player who knows how to score goals at the right place at the right time. He was able to cut his losses with a failed prospect and received a productive player in return. That’s a mark of a good general manager to not only find an eye for a winning player but to cut his losses on a failed player and get value out of it.

The Devils general manager signed Ondrej Palat from the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason. It was a good move in the sense he was a player that knows how to win and provide depth for a team built around offense. Palat will be valuable come playoff time based on his 48 career postseason goals.

To cap off a great offseason, Fitzgerald acquired John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick. He knew the Devils needed a good defenseman who would provide toughness, and Marino provides that.

All the off-season moves turned out to be a boon for the Devils. The new guys have been integral in having the Devils had their breakout season.

Fitzgerald also deserves credit for keeping Lindy Ruff as the Devils head coach. It could have been easy for him to fire his head coach this offseason, and it could have been easy for him to listen to Devils fans after chanting “FIRE LINDY” in the Devils home opener. He didn’t. He knew what he had in Ruff based on his relationship with him which goes back to his playing days with the Florida Panthers when Ruff was the assistant coach. His faith in his head coach paid off.

The Devils performed so well that ownership let Fitzgerald make a move that could have them do well in the playoffs by acquiring Sharks forward Timo Meier, who has been good as advertised by scoring four goals and getting six points in 13 games.

In hockey, team-building is so important. It’s important to build a good hockey room where guys feed off each other. This seems to be the case with the Devils. This is where Fitzgerald’s imprint on the team has had an impact.

Fitzgerald makes a case to win the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award based on the moves he made that played a role in having the Devils where they are today.

Not only did he build a team that was good for this year, but he built a good team that can last for a while.

You can read Leslie's Jersey Sporting News columns on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.